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Edited on Tue Nov-11-03 07:21 PM by mbali
"Even in the struggle's darkest days, countless Southerners stood as profiles in courage in the face of withering opposition. For every George Wallace we had a Terry Sanford. It was Lyndon Johnson, a Texan, who shook his fist at a joint session of Congress in 1965 and roared 'We SHALL overcome!'
"I believe that as Southerners, all of us in this room have a special responsibility to lead on civil rights, not only because we know America's tragic and terrible history when it comes to race, but also because we have led the way in breaking free from that history. And every politician from the South – whether you're a mayor, a governor, a senator, or president – has a moral obligation to make the mission of civil rights our own.
"Unfortunately, there are still some political leaders who take the low road, trying to divide people for their own political ends; some who take the slow road, saying the right thing, but dragging their feet when it comes to progress; and some who take no road, failing the responsibilities of leadership and the calling of our values in their silence.
"Leadership is more than photo ops with black children. It means supporting the education and safe streets those children need to have the equal shot in life they deserve as Americans.
"Leadership is more than talking about diversity, while attacking the vehicles to college diversity in court. I am very disappointed that the president has decided to join the fight against affirmative action at the University of Michigan. We should support efforts that increase diversity – and put an end to systems, like legacy admissions, that give a special preference to the most advantaged at the expense of diversity.
"Leadership is more than nice words. Leadership is courage, and commitment, and action. It means doing everything we can to make equality a reality — not only in our laws, but in our lives, in lives where the vestiges of discrimination remain a scar on our nation — from a health system where African-Americans get inferior care, to a school system where separate and unequal is the reality in far too many places.
"We have come far, but we have far to go:
"The Constitution now guarantees blacks the right to vote; now we have to put an end to practices that lead to the deprivation of minority voting rights once and for all.
"We have laws guaranteeing equal opportunity; now, we have to address the underlying economic conditions that still result in an average African-American income that is barely half that of whites.
"We have laws prohibiting segregation in public education; now we have to do something about a school system that is becoming increasingly re-segregated, leaving too many minority children the victims of inadequate education funding, inferior schools, and indifference.
"More than anything, leadership means recognizing that civil rights is not a zero sum game where 'we' give something to 'them' — whether it's women or minorities or immigrants.
"The civil rights movement was not about some 'them.' It was about "us." All of us. It was about transforming America into a nation so much closer to living out the true meaning of our creed.
"I can't imagine what our country would be like if we still lived in a segregated society. One of the most important people in my life is my friend Julius Chambers. Many of you know that Julius graduated first in his class at UNC Chapel Hill and fulfilled this promise with an extraordinarily distinguished legal career. Had it not been for Brown v. Board of Education, Julius would not have had any hope, much less the opportunity, to attend UNC, which had been strictly segregated until 1955. Had we not undergone the changes we saw as a result of the Civil Rights Movement, Julius might have been lost to me."
- John Edwards, January 20, 2003
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